


Welcome to the Family

by Angelicat2



Series: In The Darkness of the Night [9]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Blood Drinking, Bugs & Insects, Caves, Cuddling & Snuggling, It's Subtle, Keith (Voltron) Needs a Hug, Licking, Light Angst, Mostly Fluff, Self-Worth Issues, Shapeshifter Keith (Voltron), Shiro (Voltron) is a Good Friend, Soulmates, Vampire Keith (Voltron), Worried Shiro (Voltron), accidental adoption, keith can understand bats, tiny hints of allurance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-15
Updated: 2019-12-15
Packaged: 2021-02-26 08:14:52
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,306
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21810109
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Angelicat2/pseuds/Angelicat2
Summary: On a small mission to collect some crystals from some caves on a nearby planet, Keith accidentally stumbles upon a space bat colony. Two of those bats decide they want to adopt him, following him back onto the castle.
Relationships: Allura & Coran & Hunk & Keith & Lance & Pidge | Katie Holt & Shiro, Keith & Pidge | Katie Holt, Keith & Shiro (Voltron), Keith & revacs (bats), Keith/Shiro (Voltron)
Series: In The Darkness of the Night [9]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1247435
Comments: 11
Kudos: 127





	Welcome to the Family

**Author's Note:**

> These tags are a mess, and I'm sorry about that XD
> 
> Anyway, more bat Keith because this fic series is my baby and I always come back to it. 
> 
> Enjoy!

Keith blinked as he searched in the dark.

The team needed to get some supplies from the planet nearby, some type of crystal rock materials. As far as Keith understood, none of them were like the Balmera ones. These rocks would supposedly help with the cloaking devices in the lions and even create one for the castle. The planet they were on was mainly rock and caves. The climate was warm outside, but the cave systems were a little chilly. There seemed to be nothing living on the planet. Pidge hadn't detected any heat or quintessence signatures, so they had split up to go their separate ways. 

Each crystal was in a different cave, and they needed to collect a small handful of them. And being like they were, they took on each color that they piloted. 

Pidge went on to the green signature, Hunk to yellow, Lance to blue, and-

"I think we should switch," Shiro held him up from going down his path with a hand to his shoulder, "I'll grab the red ones while you get the purple ones."

"Uhhh…" Keith blinked in confusion, "Why?"

"Keith…" Shiro gave him a flat look before laughing quietly, rubbing his face, "I trust you, but your vampire side loves red just a little too much. If I let you go get them, you'll end up staring at them for an hour."

"Hey!" Keith whisper screamed, "I've never stared at anything red for an hour. Come on, Shiro."

"I know, Cherry Pie," Shiro patted his helmet before pressing his hand to his shoulder, "Better safe than sorry though. Pidge says there's nothing living here, but we've pushed our luck way too much and I'd rather you have your focus if something were to attack. Besides, the tunnel to the purple ones is pitch black."

"They're all pitch black, Shiro," Keith rolled his eyes before frowning, looking over at the caves. He had both his dagger and bayard, ready to be called forth, "Do you really think something is alive in there? In this place?"

"We've survived on less," Shiro shrugged before sighing, "It's probably nothing. I just figured since you're the fastest of us and since the purple tunnel is the longest, that you would get in and out about the same time as us. I can take the tunnel. I don't mind."

"No," Keith stared at the hole going into the cave he would need to go down, "I got this, Shiro. Just surprised me. You be careful, okay? Don't overdo it?"

"Of course not, Keith," Shiro smiled fondly at him before quickly wrapping him in his arms. Keith tucked his face into his best friend's neck, ignoring how the armor prevented him from getting the full experience he normally got. The helmet tugged uncomfortably at his forehead and ears, but he ignored that. Shiro’s scent brushed his nose like honey and vanilla and home, calming him. He could do this mission.

And now...Keith glanced around at the cave. He had his vampire side out, so the cave no longer looked dark at all. Everything was grey but he could see every little detail. The cave was just like those he’d find in the desert back when he was unknowingly searching for Blue. They had stalagmites rising from the floor and stalactites from the ceiling down. The walls of the cave was rough with sharp spikes and smelled…

Well, like any cave he had spent the night in during his large bout of grieving for Shiro’s disappearance after Kerberos. 

Keith pushed that out of his head. Shiro was alive and well and he had him back and he’d protect him this time. He wasn’t feeling that weird feeling right now anyway, the one that always told him when Shiro was in trouble. He could find the rocks right now and he’d go back to the others and it would be fine.

Except…

Except the cave ended here…

“Pidge,” Keith growled under his breath before rubbing his face and calling her up. The connection took a bit longer to go through, but soon enough, her face popped up.

Crap, he forgot he was in vampire mode...

“What?” She asked with a raised brow before looking off into the distance and back at him, blinking, “Oh man, the camera really must have issues if it’s showing red eyes. Knew these things needed to be fixed…”

“Pidge,” Keith sighed silently inside. She just thought it was the camera.

“Yeah?”

“You said the crystals are this way. I got the purple one now.”

“Uhhh...yes,” Pidge blinked owlishly before staring at the screen for a long moment. Keith almost snorted at the look because it reminded him so much of Matt, “It’s just a bit forward. Maybe there’s a bend or something there that it’s behind.”

“These crystals are glowing, right?” Keith stared forward flatly at the wall, “Well, this is the end. There’s no more. The cave ends here.”

“Ends there?” She wondered as she typed on her device, “Uhhh...no. It’s there. The signature is shining bright just a couple of yards in front of you...purple...shine…”

Keith’s eyes whipped to the screen. Every second, the machine cut out in a way that Keith didn’t like, making half of what Pidge said unhearable.

“Pidge?” The screen cut out some more, glitching wilding before going black, “Katie! Well...great. Perfect. Now what?”

No one answered him. His lion rumbled in his mind, but she didn’t offer anything useful. In fact, she seemed to be laughing at hi-

“Very funny, kitty,” he rolled his eyes before glancing around. There was nothing here. No breeze came through and no...anything…

“Come on,” Keith gazed around before moving forward, placing his hand to the back of the cave wall. It was just as sharp as Keith figured, almost biting through his glove. A moment of frustration boiled through him like fire, making him want to do something before he closed his eyes, taking a deep breath, “Patience yields focus.”

And then he focused. His senses extended out to places he hadn’t noticed before. In the far distance, he could hear one of the paladins shuffling around in their own cave, whimpering every so often - Hunk - Keith huffed softly before moving on. The cave smelled just like before but…

It smelled like...water?

The gentle sound of running water came to his ears as he listened. Before he could think, his hand brushed the wall again, feeling...liquid under his fingers. Opening his eyes, he saw the stuff glisten on his hand, sliding off his glove onto the floor. Looking up from it, he squinted at the darker spot above that. Blinking in surprise, Keith let his vampire side dull over for a second. As his eyes adjusted, a small shine came through the spot, barely seeable.

“Good thing Shiro sent me,” he muttered before grabbing the small bag he’d use for collecting rocks, hanging it onto the wall before closing his eyes, “None of the others would have been able to grab these.”

He poured his energy into transforming. He shrunk down, fingers lengthening as well as his ears and tailbone. He could feel muscles shifting and things rearranging before he opened his eyes again, sniffing around. Snatching the tiny bag with his mouth, he started for the entrance of the hole. Crawling over the spiky wall, he smelled along the water before getting to the tiny crack way above where he had been. Glancing back, he didn’t see anyone coming as his ear moved.

Hmmm...time to go in.

So he did. He wiggled his way into the pocket in the wall, not really having to avoid the walls and spikes because the space was plenty big enough. The wall smelled weird, like something had been rubbed against where he was entering. He scooted his way through before peeking his head out of the other side.

It was really pretty.

Inside was about one-eighth the size of the cave he had just been in, the floor a lot closer to the ceiling. The walls were much the same as out there but they were colored in a calming purple. The crystals sat proud at the bottom the room, shining like a nightlight would. The room was warm and nice, something that Keith tilted his head at. How could this room be so warm when none of the caves were?

Sniffing at the air, he gazed around before moving forward. Shuffling his way to the crystals, he carefully pulled out a few of the gems before slowly placing them into the baggy. He got five pieces in when he sniffed again. Tilting his head, he could feel his fur stand on end.

Packing a few more in, he snapped the string shut before picking it up. The thing wasn’t too heavy, but he’d need to be careful about getting it out since it was a little bigger than he was. Taking one last glance around the cozy pit, he crawled back out of there. It took a little longer this time than when he got in, so he huffed. Grabbing the strings of the bag, he took off for the other side of the room and was about to make it through the doorway when something slammed into him from the side. Crying out in surprise, he crashed to the rough ground before something practically squashed him against the cool floor.

What the fuck! Keith squirmed as the thing...as the animal pressed move on him. Pidge had said there was nothing living here! Why the fuck was something attacking him? He was going to be eaten.

Keith hissed before aiming for the thing’s side. The dark purple furry animal moved enough to avoid his fangs before pressing harder, making him squeal out in fear. What if it did eat him? Was he going to die here? Maybe he should have had Shiro come with. At least Shiro could have gotten the thing off of hi-

And then something licked along his neck, a trill coming from it. Keith froze as he turned as still as a statue.

He had only heard that noise from himself...when he was satisfied. He blinked before staring back at the thing pressing on his back.

It was a...bat?

It looked almost like him. The bat was too big, at least double his size with bushy purple fur spiking about every direction. It’s ears were large and shaped like his were, nose darker than the rest of the fur. The bat sniffed at him once again, nose right to his cheek before making that noise again, pressing closer to him. Keith wheezed in shock as the bat nuzzled into his fur, tail shaking against his side. A moment passed before another joined, plopping down on the other side of him before making the same noise.

‘Smell weird,’ the first huffed before ruffling along his back, ‘But like him.’

'Same here,' the other joined, 'Could be lost? Pup lost?'

What the fuck…

Keith blinked as the bat’s voice filtered into his head. He...never really noticed that was possible before? He never heard the mice like this. It wasn’t like regular talking either. The bats mouths never moved and their voices were more high-pitched and...echoey. These had to be bats, but…

Revacs!

Like he had heard the Galra on that ship say before. These were the space bats who used to live on the Galra home planet. They looked so much like him that he suddenly understood exactly why the Galra soldiers had assumed he was one. He looked just like them but tinier and black. 

‘Can be part of group,’ the first whispered before rubbing against him again, ‘So small. Need care.’

‘Hey,’ Keith squeaked before he tried to move out from under the revac, ‘I gotta go.’

‘But...why?’ The bat tilted its head before sniffing along his wing, ‘Food and water at home. We provide care.’

Keith huffed as he hooked his claw onto the rocks, literally dragging himself out from under the bat who let out a distressed cry. Keith darted out of there, grabbing the bag on the way out. He flew as fast as he could, knowing he was quicker than the bats behind him. He was proven correct when he flew out to the main cave, transforming in mid-air and slumping to the floor with a groan.

“You okay, Keith?” A voice pulled him from his head as someone lifted him to his feet, “You look like you’ve been running hard.”

“Something like that…” Keith huffed before sending Hunk a grateful smile, “Thanks, big guy.”

“No problem, man,” the other smiled back before holding up his bag, “Got all of mine.”

“Me too.”

“Same here.”

“All these crystals will allow us to do all kinds of things!” 

Keith whipped around to the youngest of the group. Marching over to her, he stopped her before pointing back to the cave.

“You told us the caves were empty,” he stared at her before forcing himself to take a step back. He didn’t want to repeat what happened in the castle when Pidge was about to leave...He didn’t want to be like that, “They’re not empty, Pidge.”

“They aren’t?” Pidge raised a brow before messing with her scanner, “My scanner didn’t pick up anything.”

“Well, there were bats back there,” Keith growled slightly before crossing his arms, reigning himself in, “I didn’t exactly feel like being on the end of their attention.”

“Wait,” Lance raised his hand, holding back laughter, “Bats scared you away? Oh my quiznak!”

“It’s not funny, Lance,” Keith glared at the other before narrowing his eyes, “They could be poisonous or something…”

“Or something,” Lance chuckled before poking him in the side, which had Keith glaring at him more, “I bet they were soft and adorable. Just like our new bat friend.”

Keith didn’t know what to say...he was their bat friend. He remembered every time he was a bat with them. But...he didn’t want them to know about him and his vampire side, including his bat form. Who knows what kind of things would happen. At least with his bat form, they seemed to like him. He never called him a loner or a dropout or anything like that when he was a bat. Was his bat form really just that much more appealing? Was there something wrong with him? Wha- 

“We should get going,” Shiro rested his hand on Keith’s shoulder, pulling him out of his wandering thoughts, “Good work, guys. We’ll catch up in a few seconds.”

The three barely nodded back before rushing to their lions. Keith watched them for a moment before sighing tiredly.

“You okay?”

“No?” Keith asked back as he rubbed his forehead, “Just...thinking…”

“About?”

“About my bat form…” Keith blinked at him before shrugging, “About how the others seem to only like me in my bat form.”

“Your bat form is adorable,” Shiro gazed at him for a moment before pulling him into a hug, “But any form you take is good, Keith. The others...they just don’t know yet. You...you can always tell them. I’ll be there for you if you do.”

“I know,” Keith huffed before hugging him back, “I just...I’m not...I don’t like that idea. You understand because you’ve known me for so long. You’re...you’re you. You liked me before we found out about this. I’m not scared to let the others know, I just…”

“Don’t want them to reject you,” Shiro muttered after his pause, which Keith nodded at, “I get it, Keith. I won’t push you to tell them, as I’ve said before. Just know that I doubt any of them will think differently of you if they knew.”

“Thanks, Shiro,” Keith smiled at his best friend before his knees suddenly buckled, making him yelp in surprise as Shiro caught him before he could hit the ground, “Ugghhh.”

“What’s wrong, Keith?” Shiro asked with concerned eyes. Keith only snickered softly at his worry.

“I’m good,” Keith huffed before snuggling closer to the older, “Just tired. Had to transform twice to get the crystals.”

“And this is when you met the bats?” He asked before getting up. Keith pushed himself to his own feet before walking along, Shiro providing support as they started for their lions.

“Yep,” Keith yawned loudly before sighing. He was getting hungry now, “Ambushed me out of nowhere, could hear them talk, wanted me to stay, got away.”

“Oh,” Shiro blinked before his brows furrowed, “Wait...you can talk to bats? Since when? Must be your vampire side.”

“I guess,” he shrugged again before glancing around in worry, “Why aren’t we going to Red?”

“Because you’re riding with me,” Shiro pointed his thumb at Keith’s lion before gripping under his shoulder again, “I know you need to feed and Black can fly herself for a bit and stop the others from calling in.”

“Oh,” Keith stared at his lion for a moment. The red machine purred in his mind, likely agreeing before lighting up and taking off for the castle nearby, “Huhhh…”

“Well, I think she chose for you,” Shiro laughed softly before leading him up Black’s ramp and into her jaws, “Hey, Black. Think you can get us to the castle without my help right now. Keith needs me.”

The lion rumbled around them before lighting up too. Keith didn’t pay any attention as the older led him to the small bedroom in the back cargo area. The older sat on the bed, pulling off his helmet and chest plate, moving his undersuit enough to the side for Keith to drink. A second passed before Keith sluggishly pulled his own off, placing them beside the shining armor and sitting down in his usual spot. Smelling at Shiro’s neck, he pressed his itching fangs to the other’s flesh. The man relaxed with a blissful sigh as Keith let the teeth sink deeper in, droplets of honey-kissed home came to his tongue. Fingers carded through his hair, making him sigh happily.

…..

Shiro smiled softly as Keith snuggled further into his hands.

The younger was currently a bat, having transformed right after their debriefing in the meeting room. Pidge had grabbed the crystals and was probably using them to power the cloaking device. The others had went off in their own directions, so Keith had turned and hopped onto his palms. And right now, Keith seemed to be sleeping.

He rubbed along Keith’s head, getting a deep trill back as Shiro walked on. When he finally got to the lounge, he sat the other down, causing him to hiss slightly and curl up.

“I’m just grabbing our blankets,” Shiro shook his head before going to the closet that held all of their movie night goods, “I’ll be right back in a second. Then you can sleep on me. That’ll be warmer.”

Keith made a small sound back before Shiro grabbed the big black blanket and the soft red one. At least he didn’t have to worry about Keith staring at it, both because Keith had seen it enough and he was too tired to probably even see it. Shiro grabbed a few pillows too, knowing that while the couches were comfortable, they were not very padded. He paused when he heard another trill from behind him…

That was...weird…

Keith really shouldn’t have been trilling again because he usually did that when he was happy, and Keith didn’t like the cold which the lounge was. Shiro had yet to put anything on him to warm him up…

Turning around, Shiro froze when he saw a bigger lump of purple where Keith had been. Setting the blankets down carefully, he slowly slid forward, taking in the sight. Said bundle of...fuzz moved a little, a lighter purple tongue darting out to lick at something…

Shiro raised a brow. Did...something in the castle go crazy again? What even was that thing? What was it licking? Where was Keith?

Where was Keith? 

Shiro gazed around, but no Keith came in sight. The purple thing was where Shiro sat him down…

And then another trill came, sounding more muffled than before. Shiro blinked as he stared at the violet bunch on the couch just as a second tongue darted out, dragging across black fu-

“Keith!” Shiro nearly shouted in shock before covering his mouth. Neither purple bundle paid him any attention, only went on with whatever they were doing. Another sound came from Keith who yawned a bit, pink tongue darting out before relaxing more. An even deeper trill came from one furry pile and then the other. 

What the heck was going on?

“Hey, Shiro,” he could hear Pidge coming up behind him, “Can we start with Black on the crystals? I’m trying t-”

“Shhh,” Shiro grabbed her shoulder gently before stopping her, “I think some type of animal is in the lounge with us.”

“Woah,” Pidge blinked her eyes before scooting forward half a step, “Those are furry. They're not my fuzz buddies.”

“Yeah, and Little Buddy’s in there somewhere,” he whispered back before Keith shifted slightly, pressing against the creature on his left more, trilling as the other’s tongue brushed his forehead, “Right there.”

“Uhhh…” Hunk’s voice spoke up as they both spun around, ready for a fight, “It’s cool, guys. Just me. So what are we watching?”

“Little Buddy,” Pidge pointed her thumb at Keith whose ear flicked before settling, “He’s over there...sleeping...under some type of animals.”

“Why that would be a revac!”

All three of them jumped in surprise as Coran came up behind them.

“Don’t do that, Coran!” Hunk screamed quietly before glaring, “Seriously, how have one of us not been killed yet from sneaking up on each other! Stop it!”

“I did not intent to sneak up on you, my boy,” Coran grinned before he stepped closer to the three on the sofa, “I was just looking for you when I stumbled into you three here.”

“Okay…” Pidge nodded as she sent him an annoyed look, “What’s a revac?”

“Well, a revac is-”

“Who started a party and didn’t tell us?” Lance’s voice interrupted the man as they all looked at Allura and Lance with tired eyes, “What?”

“There is no party and Coran’s explaining what a revac is,” Pidge groaned as she sighed, “Like I asked...What is a revac?”

“Oh!” Allura held her hands together before her eyes brightened, “That was what I was thinking when I first saw him! Our bat friend looks just like one except for the color and size. There had been a whole colony back on Daibazaal, wasn’t there, Coran?”

“Why yes,” Coran nodded as he brushed his moustache, “Revacs are mammals that have wings for arms and often stay in colonies numbering the millions. They also live in caves, which Daibazaal was covered in."

"I would assume these two came from the caves you were just at," Allura spoke as she watched the three, "They do seem to like Little Buddy. He seems to like it too."

He sure was. Keith was trilling again, tail wagging between the thick fur of the two revacs. One revac was still licking his head while the other pressed closer, rubbing against his side. 

"Awww," Hunk stared with stars in his eyes, "I think they adopted him! Look at them!"

"He looks just like when my family gets together," Lance grinned widely, "My family's huge and I love to braid my sisters' hair and momma's too. We all get together and cuddle! Why haven't we all done that yet!"

"Because…" Pidge paused for a second, tilting her head, "Why haven't we? Hugs are nice sometimes."

"Awww!" Hunk smiled excitedly before hugging the younger close, startling her, "Did those crystals make you less people adverse?"

"What?" Pidge scowled before glaring at him. Shiro chuckled when she didn't move to push him away, "That doesn't even make sense."

"What happened to your whole 'computers are all I need' thing you had?" 

Shiro ignored them as he stepped closer to the small group. When he was less than a foot away, one of the revacs went still. Shiro blinked before said bat glared at him. Black, beady eyes stared at him before the bat hissed, sharp teeth picking out of its mouth. 

Those were big teeth.

"Revacs are very territorial and social," Coran stated from the side as Shiro kept his eyes on the other animal hissing at him. The bat was clearly protecting Keith, "Especially over those they consider part of their colony. Usually one male shares a roost with lots of females."

"And these are both females?" Pidge asked with wide eyes, peering at the three which made the one revac shift to hide Keith more, "Usually on Earth there are differences between males and females. Some males are more colorful, some bigger, some smaller."

"Oh, no," Coran shook his head before waving his hands dramatically, "There is hardly any difference between them in looks. There really is no need for size or color differences. Revacs don't see very many colors and they offer up a meal to those they wish to reproduce with."

"Wait!" Lance shouted with wide eyes, "Are you saying...You mean they want to mate with him!"

"No," Coran shook his head before laughing, "Our bat friend is too small. They likely think he's a young revac. Possibly one that lost his own colony. They are very caring and protective, especially of those who are alone."

"We can see that," Allura grinned before she laughed, "Look at him."

Shiro gazed back at Keith who...was awake, his purple eyes open...he was nuzzling back at the bat who had been licking him. A moment of this went by before he froze slightly, sniffing at the bat. Another second went by before a series of clicks came from his mouth. The bat answered back with a similar sound before pressing closer. The other bat refused to look away from Shiro and them, likely still guarding.

"Wait," Pidge blinked before she grinned, "The one guarding them is the male and the one caring for him is a female."

"That is certainly correct!"

Another series of squeaks left Keith before he also leaned toward the same bat. Shiro watched as their heads came closer until they were about mouth to mouth-

"Oh my quiznak!" Lance screamed out before covering his eyes, "Are they going to kiss! Ewww gross. I do not want to witness bat kisses or anything else."

"Oh you poor earthlings," Coran facepalmed before laughing, "Revacs are generous and like to share a meal with others, even those not in their colony. They eat a diet entirely based on blood."

A small trill pulled their attention back to the two who were still face-to-face. The bigger revac was holding out her tongue. At the same time, Keith licked around the area, gathering up some blood that dripped from the other's mouth.

"She's regurgitating blood," Hunk looked away with a green face, "That's gross."

"But a very efficient way to ensure one gets the food they need," Coran stated enthusiastically before frowning, "Revacs need food every quintant to survive since they drink a liquid diet. They will die if they don't eat within two."

"So...they just go around sharing meals?" Lance asked after a moment of them all watching the bats interact, "Won't they die from oversharing or something?"

"Oh no, my boy. You underestimate them," Coran grinned before snickering, "Revacs are very smart. They know who they have fed before, even in a colony of millions. They also know when someone is cheating the system."

"Oh my god, that's amazing," Pidge stared at the three with sparkling eyes, hands typing away on her phone, "These guys are so much like vampire bats that we have on Earth! Both eat blood diets, both share meals, they're smart...They're just not shaped like one. Like I told Shiro when we first found Little Buddy on Earth, he looks more like a mexican free-tailed bat...except the black coloring..."

At this, Keith made a small chirping sound. The female revac tilted her head before a series of clicks left her. Another moment passed before Keith looked at the revac guarding them. Another noise rushed from him before he pressed closer to the male. Said bat glared at them still, making a small noise. Some more sounds came from the two before the bat finally settled down a bit. He pressed his claw to Keith's back before making the same noise that the other had. 

"Are they communicating?" Hunk asked quietly, "It sounds like they're talking. Is that normal for bats?"

"Not usually," Shiro answered back this time, speaking for the first time in awhile, "They normally use those clicks and noises for echolocation. But some sing and make sounds like that. They just don't sound like this."

"Smart," Pidge spoke while typing. A minute passed before she paused and frowned, "Wait...If they eat blood, they need something to eat from. That planet seemed pretty barren."

A tiny squeak interrupted them as Keith darted away, zipping through the air and around the corner. A second passed before a large cockroach ran around the corner, hissing and spitting angrily. Keith jumped after it, growling just as much before tackling it. Both rolled for a second before fighting each other.

"Oh my quiznak!" Lance screamed as he jumped into the air, Allura catching him in her arms, "There's space cockroaches! Whyyyyy!"

Shiro snickered softly before watching the fight. The cockroach hissed before striking at Keith with its sharp leg. Keith yelped in pain as the leg struck him in the side, hissing louder than before. The ebony bat bore both fangs before ripping into the bug’s shell, crunching it in before pressing his wings down harder. The cockroach fought for a long ten seconds before relaxing, leg twitching slightly. 

His venom must finally have kicked in.

Keith flipped the large bug over before going for the creature’s throat. A loud crack was heard before the bug quit moving completely. Keith huffed before clicking softly, probably talking to himself. He grabbed the bug by its shell before stiffly climbing the couch, almost falling off a time or two. Shiro wasn’t too worried because no feeling came to him that Keith was seriously hurt. Said best friend shuffled his way to the top of the couch seat before plopping the dead bug in front of the two whose ears flicked.

“Awww…” Hunk grinned, “He brought them a meal back. That’s cute.”

Sure enough, the two bats both bit into the bug. Blood welled to the surface before they began to feed from it.

“Wait!” Lance shouted, pulling them back to him. Shiro nearly laughed at the fact that while the younger was freaking out, he had yet to notice Allura was holding him like he weighed nothing, “There’s cockroaches in space!”

“They’re Blood Roaches,” Allura raised a brow before shrugging, “Every ship has a high chance of having them. They like to hide within the walls and come out when people are sleeping to drink their blood. They’re not harmful, just very...inconvenient and bothersome, especially if you have a whole group of them.”

“Huh…” Pidge blinked before tilting her head, typing something, “I guess everything is universal one way or another.”

“Yeah, I mean,” Hunk scoffed before counting on his fingers, “Cats, bats, garlic, cockroaches, lions…”

“These revacs are very...stubborn,” Allura spoke up as the two finished their food, “They followed us all the way from the caves. And I don’t like how they got in, I thought we patched up all the holes.”

“We did, princess,” Coran nodded before pulling up a screen and rewinding it, “Seems like they came in with a certain Black Paladin.”

Shiro blinked as the video played. He was walking into the castle, Keith nearby. This must have been when they got done feeding the younger because their armor was back on. He didn’t see anything until he turned to go in a different direction. There on his black jetpack sat two furry bundles.

“Huh…” Shiro blinked before a small noise had him rolling his eyes, smile on his lips, “Yeah, yeah, Little Buddy, I know.”

His best friend made the same noise before landing onto his back.

“Well, I know you are there right now,” the older huffed before laughing softly, “And I don’t have my armor on. What are you doing anyway?”

Keith let out a chirp before crawling over his shoulder, nuzzling against his neck before licking along his neck right where he normally drank. Shiro couldn’t stop his chuckle as the other’s whiskery tongue tickled his skin. Before long, the other crawled his way across Shiro’s chest and to his mechanical arm, scooting along the metal until he came upon his hand. The smaller sat down in the black palm, trilling as he rubbed against his thumb before biting on it. Shiro grinned fondly at the gesture, feeling the sharp teeth but not the pain as Keith gnawed on the silver digit. Another few seconds of this went by before Keith perked up, looking over his hand and squeaking out some sounds.

The two bats on the couch let out curious sounds before they moved forward, sniffing at the air. Shiro stepped a little bit closer before lowering Keith in his hand. For a minute, both creatures blinked at him, eyes narrowed. But soon enough, both trilled quietly, crawling onto his hand and making another Keith sandwich, pillowing around the younger who also trilled. Shiro laughed softly before carefully rubbing all three.

“I won’t hurt you,” he smiled as the male revac let out a bigger trill, “I’ll take good care of Little Buddy.”

The bats must have believed him because they both relaxed before rubbing against his palm and Keith. Keith practically purred before biting on his thumb.

“Looks like you may have to be the one to return them,” Coran stared at the three before grinning, “Well, it’s quite lucky as we have not left the planet yet! I estimate we’ll be here for at least another five vargas.”

“Yeah, I need to see if the crystals are viable with the tech still,” Pidge nodded before she pulled out one of the red ones. Keith made a strange noise before flying onto her hand, staring at the glowing scarlet gem with wide eyes, tail wiggling lazily from side to side. Shiro laughed loudly as the two bats tilted their heads in concern.

Keith nuzzles against the crystal before stopping and giving Shiro a flat look. It only causes the man to bust out laughing more. The revacs look between them with confused eyes before sniffing at the two. Both seemed to share a glance before taking off into the air and landing on Pidge’s hands, smelling the crystal. A moment passed before Keith trilled softly, pressing against both.

“I guess they can spend a little more time here,” Pidge snickered before shifting the female to her hand that held Keith and the other before carefully petting them, “They seem to like each other. I wouldn’t mind some company while I work.”

“Okay,” Hunk nodded before grabbing something beside him, “I’ll go bake something for the three, and some food for us! I’ll meet you down at your lab in an hour!”

“Yeah! I’ll grab some blankets and stuff!” Lance grinned before looking around and dragging his eyes from Allura’s hands up to her face, voice sounding awed and breathless, “Hi.”

“Hello, Lance,” Allura greeted back before blinking, “Is there something you wanted to say?”

“Say?” He asked before his eyes widened, a red hot blush covering his face, “Uhhh...no? Yes? Maybe? Oh, I’m gonna go get the stuff. Bye!”

And then the younger bolted, face even redder than before, dopey smile on his lips. Shiro rolled his eyes before smirking. Loverboy Lance was definitely a good name for him. And Allura seemed to like this version of him much better than the ones where he flirted like crazy, understandably.

“Coran and I will prepare the castle for when we actually do launch,” she grinned before shrugging, “We’ll meet you at the same time.”

“Hey, Shiro,” Pidge blinked at him from the doorway as he watched the others leave, “You coming with?”

“Huh?”

“To my lab,” she rolled her eyes playfully before looking at the two bats, “Unless you want to do something else. I got a funny story about Matt that you’ve probably never heard.”

Ohhh...that was very tempting. Shiro knew that both of them needed to talk about her brother. He still felt guilty about having to hurt Matt to get him out of there and Pidge needed to remember him in some way. And Keith would be them, also friends with Matt.

A small ball of fur nuzzled at his neck right as he thought of that, making a small inquisitive sound before patting his shoulder with his wing. Shiro only shook his head, warmth flaring in his chest at the action before he agreed.

“Alright,” he gave in before rubbing the top of Keith’s head, “Anything for you.”

As he stepped closer to the doorway, he could feel the younger’s tail thump on his neck, somehow feeling good as the smaller hid in the collar of his vest, sniffing at him before licking him again. Shiro let him, listening to Pidge go on some type of rant about Matt and their dog Bae Bae. 

He thinks that while the two revacs meant to adopt Keith into their family, they may have been adopted into the Voltron one instead.

**Author's Note:**

> Keith!!! They care!!! It's just going to be awhile before they show it to the fullest extent...heh...
> 
> And yes...The two revacs and Keith were talking to each other, if anyone was wondering.


End file.
